Desk lift



p 8, 1964 R. c. ARTH 3,147,953

DESK LIFT Filed Sept. 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /N|/ENTOR A34 YMOND CART/1 mf U/ s W ATTORNEY;

R. C. ARTH Sept. 8, 1964 DESK LIFT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 15, 1961 INVENTOR RAYMoNDCARTH %N,M@ Arrokzvs vs United States Patent 3,147,953 DESK LIFT Raymond C. Arth, St. Paul, Minn, assignor to Raymond Products Company, St. Paul, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Fiied Sept. 15, 1%1, Ser. No. 138,327 4 Claims. (Cl. 254-40) This invention is a desk lift or dolly by means of which desks may be supported on caster wheels for moving about readily from place to place. It comprises essentially a rolling frame and lifting frame pivoted to the rolling frame by a parallel ruler type of structure. The invention features, among other things, a one piece casting for supporting two of the casters in proximity to each other and similar castings for each of the other two wheels used whereby a particularly low clearance structure is created that will slide easily under the lowest desks. It also features structure adjacent to the raising and lowering handle receiving socket to make it easy to replace the handle for lowering the desk after it has been located appropriately. Yet another feature of the device is the lock mechanism which is both positive and yet easily released when the desk has been taken to its destination. A further feature of the device is the plan arrangement of its rollers with two close together and two at the ends whereby it may be maneuvered into comparatively nar row spaces between desk legs thereby permitting the use of it with all types and from either side of a desk. Still another feature of the device is the slightly tilted position of the lifting frame with respect to the wheeled frame when the former is raised, whereby the drawers of a desk tend to be held closed when the desk is on the lift. A still further featured structure of the dolly is the fact that the lifting frame of the dolly constitutes the highest plane of the dolly when it is in a lowered position with the handle removed, which makes it possible to use the unit as an ordinary lift-on dolly.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a novel desk lift.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a desk lift that can accommodate itself to substantially any desk lifting situation that is presented.

Another object of this invention is to provide a desk lift having a removable lifting handle that may be readily re-engaged with the unit when lowering of the lifted desk is desired.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a desk lift that is versatile in use.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a desk lift that minimizes the likelihood of drawers sliding out of a desk being moved even when not locked.

Other and further objects of the invention are those inherent and apparent in the apparatus as described, pictured and claimed.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which corresponding numerals refer to the same parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the invention with a portion of the handle used in lifting deleted to illustrate the construction of the lift more fully;

3,147,953 Patented Sept. 8, 1964 FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the device taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and with portions of a desk shown in broken lines to illustrate how the device is positioned prior to lifting;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the device, drawn to a smaller scale than that of FIGURE 1 and with a broken line representation of the leg locations of a desk illustrating how the lift may be angled between the desk legs to position it for operation;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 except that the device is shown in its elevated or lifted position;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 4 and comparable to the illustration of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary isometric view of the lifting handle receiving socket to illustrate its structure more fully and drawn to a larger scale than FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURE 1 first, the lifting frame 10 may be seen to have suitable means such as the bracket elements 11 secured thereto to provide a means for pivotally securing the lifting links 12 and I4 thereto. The frame It) may be made up in any suitable manner as by brazing or otherwise securing together tubing or the like which has been properly formed.

The other ends of the links 12 are pivotally secured to the castings 15 and 16, and 17 in the case of links 14. Castings 15 and 16 are similar, differing only in one being for the left side of the unit and the other for the right. Casting 17 is provided with the two upwardly off-set portions 18 each of which supports one of the suitable caster Wheels 19. Castings l5 and 16 also support similar casters 19. The three castings 15, 16 and 17 are rigidly secured together to form the wheeled frame portion of the device by the two end bars 2i) and the side bar 21.

The two links 14 are joined together and in fact may be formed integrally with a lifting handle receiving socket 22. This socket receives the squared end 24 of lifting handle 25. By inserting handle 25 in socket 22 and swinging the handle outward and downward in an arc to the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, the links 14 are placed in a vertical position while the handle is moved to a substantially horizontal one. As the links 12 are pivoted both to the roller frame and the lifting frame, they also will raise in the manner well understood and leave the lifting frame standing Well above the wheel frame as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

Any suitable pin means may be used to pivot the various parts together and in FIGURE 2 the pins 26 and 27 are shown illustratively for the two ends of the links 12 and the pins 28 and 29 may be seen as providing pivots for the lifting frame ends of links 14 in the first instance and for the combination of the links and lifting handle socket 22 in the other. Pivoted to lifting frame 10 also is the lockbar 349. It is mounted at a point between the ends of the links 14 and may be pivoted jointly with them on pin 28. As best seen perhaps in FIGURE 2, lockbar 3%) has a bend in it at 31 which causes the portion between bend 31 and the outer end having the notch therein 32- to lie substantially parallel to the top plane of lifting frame 1% when it is in a down position. It will also be noted, most clearly shown in FIGURE 2, that lifting frame It extends above every portion of lockbar 30 even when the frame Iii is down. It will be seen in the same figure that the uppermost portions of lifting handle socket 22 are below the top plane of lifting frame 10. For this reason, when lifting frame 10 is in a lowered position, a fiat object may be placed on it to be supported on the lifting frame of the dolly without engaging any other part of the dolly.

When the lifting frame is raised with respect to the wheeled frame as shown in FIGURE 3, the lockbar 30 will drop down under the influence of gravity until the notch 32 engages side bar 21. Under these conditions, the lifting frame cannot drop back to its lowered position and the burden lifted by the frame is securely held in an elevated position. Notch 32 engages side bar 21 firmly and positively as long as the weight of the desk is carried by lifting frame 10.

As perhaps best disclosed in FIGURE 5, the links 12 are slightly shorter than the combination of the socket and links 14. For this reason, there is a very slight inclination of the lifting frame 10 with the side most remote from the handle tending to be slightly lower than the side adjacent to the lifting handle. As most desks are picked up from the side thereof at which a user sits, this slight inclination of the desk, as it is lifted by the frame 10, will keep the drawers of the desk in a closed condition even though not locked prior to lifting. This orientation of the links may be reversed if it is desired, of course, or they may be the same length so that any unit picked up thereby may be held in a level position. In most instances when desks are lifted, however, they are lifted from the kneehole side and the preferred form of the device is that illustrated in FIGURE 5 where the desk is tipped so that the edge at which the user sits is slightly higher than the edge spaced therefrom.

In order to release lockbar 30, it is necessary first to relieve tension on the lockbar and this is accomplished by reinserting the lifting handle 25. Reference is now made to the enlarged fragmentary showing of the lifting handle receiving socket shown in FIGURE 6. As may be seen clearly in FIGURE 6, there is a pair of ridges or beads designated 34- on either side of the socket portion 22. Also at the top front of the socket portion as at 35, the upper wall of socket 222 is cut away leaving a three sided or trough-like portion at the outer end. In order to reinsert the reduced end 24 of handle 25 into the socket 22, it is necessary only to move the end of the handle back and forth on the top of the socket portion 22 until it can be felt to lie between the beads 34. The handle is then drawn slowly outward until it drops through opening to rest in the trough-like portion of socket 22. Inward pressure on the handle 25 then engages reduced portion 24 of the lifting handle with the socket 22 and the device is ready to be manipulated. Slight downward pressure on handle 25 relieves the force being applied to the lockbar 3t and a slight pressure on the release lever 36 causes notch 22 to be lifted far enough above the side bar or member 21 on the roller frame so that it will not catch thereon when handle 25 is raised, lowering the desk to desired location.

The frame 10 and handle 25 may be covered with suitable semi-rcsilient non-marring material which also increases the friction of the top surface of frame 10, thereby reducing the likelihood of an object supported thereon slipping off.

In FIGURE 3, is shown the advantage of having the wheels on one side of the device placed close to each other so that frame 10 and the wheeled frame do not engage the legs 37 and 38 of the representation 39 of a desk, in passing between legs that are too narrow for the device to move between without being angled. Island or pedestal type desks such as those suggested at 40 in FIGURES 2 and 5 do not require this manipulation of the lift. However, older type desks supported at each of the corners of the drawer structures, as in FIGURE 3, may.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by Way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A desk lift comprising: a dual casting having a pair of upwardly off-set portions for receiving caster wheels, caster wheels secured to the upwardly off-set portions of said dual casting, a pair of bars secured to said dual casting at its ends adjacent to said caster wheels and diverging therefrom, castings having upwardly off-set portions to receive a single caster wheel secured to the diverging ends of said bars, single caster wheels secured to said castings, a long bar extending between and connected to said castings, links pivoted to said castings, a lifting frame pivoted to the other ends of said links, a socket secured to the links pivoted to said dual casting, said socket extending at an angle approximating degrees to said links, said socket having a trough formed adjacent thereto and having the walls of the trough forming extensions of part of the walls of said socket, guide beads formed on the edges of said trough and extending along the outside of said socket, a leverage handle adapted to fit in said socket, a lockbar pivoted to the side of said lifting frame adjacent said socket and adapted to engage said long bar when said lifting frame is elevated, a lockbar releasing handle extending beyond said lifting frame toward said socket, said leverage handle adapted to engage said socket and be disengaged therefrom selectively.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the ones of said links adjacent said dual casting are effectively longer than said links near said castings.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the top plane of said lifting frame is above the highest point of every other part of said lift when said leverage handle is removed.

4. A desk lift of the type having a roller frame and a lifting frame corresponding sides of which are connected by links pivoted to both frames with a leverage member secured to some of said links; whereby said lifting frame may be elevated with respect to said roller frame at will, the improvement comprising: said roller frame being constructed of a dual casting, two single castings and three bar members, said dual casting having two spaced, upwardly off-set portions for receiving caster wheels, each of said single castings having one upwardly off-set portion for receiving a single caster wheel, one of said bar members being substantially longer than the other two and extending between said two single castings, the other two bar members extending between said dual casting and one of the single castings whereby a four sided figure is provided having the long bar and said dual casting substantially parallel to each other and the two short bars extending toward each other as they approach said dual casting, and said links adjacent said leverage member being of a greater effective length than the others of said links; whereby said lifting frame when raised is farther from a supporting surface near said leverage member than at the other side thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 410,157 De Weese Sept. 3, 1889 623,669 Hooper et al Apr. 24, 1899 865,987 Barlow Sept. 17, 1907 1,397,894 Lanyon Nov. 22, 1921 1,461,355 Irwin July 10, 1923 1,507,625 Runyan Sept. 9, 1924 1,510,345 Robertson Sept. 30, 1924 2,840,346 De Moulin June 24, 1958 2,959,311 Rosenow Nov. 8, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 534,275 Great Britain Mar. 14, 1941 

1. A DESK LIFT COMPRISING: A DUAL CASTING HAVING A PAIR OF UPWARDLY OFF-SET PORTIONS FOR RECEIVING CASTER WHEELS, CASTER WHEELS SECURED TO THE UPWARDLY OFF-SET PORTIONS OF SAID DUAL CASTING, A PAIR OF BARS SECURED TO SAID DUAL CASTING AT ITS ENDS ADJACENT TO SAID CASTER WHEELS AND DIVERGING THEREFROM, CASTINGS HAVING UPWARDLY OFF-SET PORTIONS TO RECEIVE A SINGLE CASTER WHEEL SECURED TO THE DIVERGING ENDS OF SAID BARS, SINGLE CASTER WHEELS SECURED TO SAID CASTINGS, A LONG BAR EXTENDING BETWEEN AND CONNECTED TO SAID CASTINGS, LINKS PIVOTED TO SAID CASTINGS, A LIFTING FRAME PIVOTED TO THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID LINKS, A SOCKET SECURED TO THE LINKS PIVOTED TO SAID DUAL CASTING, SAID SOCKET EXTENDING AT AN ANGLE APPROXIMATING 90 DEGREES TO SAID LINKS, SAID SOCKET HAVING A TROUGH FORMED ADJACENT THERETO AND HAVING THE WALLS OF THE TROUGH FORMING EXTENSIONS OF PART OF THE WALLS OF SAID SOCKET, GUIDE BEADS FORMED ON THE EDGES OF SAID TROUGH AND EXTENDING ALONG THE OUTSIDE OF SAID SOCKET, A LEVERAGE HANDLE ADAPTED TO FIT IN SAID SOCKET, A LOCKBAR PIVOTED TO THE SIDE OF SAID LIFTING FRAME ADJACENT SAID SOCKET AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID LONG BAR WHEN SAID LIFTING FRAME IS ELEVATED, A LOCKBAR RELEASING HANDLE EXTENDING BEYOND SAID LIFTING FRAME TOWARD SAID SOCKET, SAID LEVERAGE HANDLE ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID SOCKET AND BE DISENGAGED THEREFROM SELECTIVELY. 